Ashley Todd is the 20-year-old McCain volunteer who told the police she'd been beaten up by a big black dude who also carved a big B for Barack on her face when he saw her McCain bumper sticker.
Ashley Todd was lying. She made it all up. She presumably inflicted the wounds on herself or got a friend to do it. She'll now be charged with filing a false police report.
Sources and quotes below the fold.
KDKA
Police say a campaign volunteer confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter B in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker.
At a news conference this afternoon, officials said they believe that Ashley Todd's injuries were self-inflicted.
Todd, 20, of Texas, is now facing charges for filing a false report to police.
The story has already been picked up by the AP:
Bryant said somebody charged with making a false report would typically be cited and sent a summons. But because police have concerns about Todd's mental health, they are consulting with the Allegheny County District Attorney. She remained in custody and was awaiting arraignment.
Todd worked in New York for the College Republican National Committee before moving two weeks ago to Pennsylvania, where her duties included recruiting college students, the committee's executive director, Ethan Eilon, has said.
Well, we all know that women's "health" is irrelevant, so her mental health shouldn't enter into it.
Dana Goldstein calls it at American Prospect:
Individuals who invent stories of victimization are often mentally ill, and deserve some modicum of compassion. But there's no question that in both of these cases, the lies were manufactured to whip up racial hatred. Equally bad, people who fabricate tales of violence do a real disservice to women and men who are actually victims of violent crimes. Our culture is already filled with insinuations that women in particular make-up or "exaggerate" accusations of assault, sexual harassment, and rape.
All in all, this little episode is an example of one individual crafting a narrative intended to play off an image of Barack Obama and his supporters (as radical, terroristic, and racially-motivated) that is being pushed by the McCain campaign. Sad and sordid.
My sentiments exactly.